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48-Hour Film Experience Challenges San Antonio Filmmakers

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Frame from "Voodoo Daddy," a 48-Hour Film Experience 2009 submission by Pete Barnstrom.
Mistah Pete

Soon there will be intense groups of people running around the city pointing cameras at one another for the San Antonio 48-Hour Film Experience, and here’s how it works:

Filmmakers gather and pull parameters like subject, genre and character names, out of a hat.

"We’re given a few constraints, and then we go out and make a film in a weekend," said Pete Barnstrom, a 48-hour filmmaker here in San Antonio.

Is it more fun...or abusive?

"It’s fun," Barnstrom said. "I like to do it with my 10-year-old son, my 11-year-old son now."

It is interesting to imagine their challenge: From absolutely nothing to a finished product in 48 hours. It’s a weird process, for which a filmmaker really can’t effectively prepare himself.

"You might get hit with something you weren’t expecting," Barnstrom said. "You’re all geared up for a horror film and you get hit with romantic comedy, but that’s half the fun."

Barnstrom said the number of teams producing films varies.

The San Antonio 48-Hour Film Experience is the weekend of November 22-24 and all submitted films will be viewed on December 5 at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

"Voodoo Daddy," which was done by Pete Barnstrom for the 48-Hour Film Experience in 2009:

"Love After," which was part of the San Antonio 48-Hour Film Experience in December 2011:

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Jack Morgan can be reached at jack@tpr.org and on Twitter at @JackMorganii